1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an animal leash, and more particularly, to an animal leash that improves a handler'control over a leashed animal and is easily attached to and quickly released from an animal in a manner that safeguards against unintentional unleashing of the animal.
2. Background Discussion
The number of pets in highly populated localities, such as towns, cities and the surrounding suburbs, is quite significant and as a result prudent civil conduct dictates the use of leashes to retain pets when they are outside to minimize detrimental pet/human interaction. In addition, many localities have laws that require pet owners to have their pets on a leash when they take them outside for a walk although limited open areas are sometimes designated as runs for pets in parks or on the beach. Moreover, the leash is very useful in training pets to be obedient. As a result of the foregoing, it is fairly common for pet owners to own a leash in order to take their pets outside or to train them.
The legal requirement for leashing pets is of significant importance to and a substantial liability for dog owners. Pet owners can be fined significant amounts of money for not having their pets on a leash and may incur criminal and civil liability if their pet hurts or kills someone because the pet was not on a leash.
Because many pets, such as dogs, must be let out of the house on a regular basis for exercise as well as sanitation reasons, the control of the pet while leashed is of considerable important to pet owners and/or animal handlers. However, known leash designs do not always provide an animal handler with the type of control necessary to properly manage a leashed animal, such as a dog.
A good example of a leash design that has deficiencies is the flexible leash, such as a rope leash having a loop at one end that is held by the handler and a spring loaded clip or hook at the other end which is attached to the animal'collar. Due to the slack inherent to the flexible leash, the leashed animal can make a short dash away from the handler, for example, chasing after a moving object such as a cat or a car, before the leash acts to restrain the animal. In such circumstances, the animal is afforded the opportunity to build up a certain amount of momentum before being restrained and the animal can jerk or pull the animal handler off balance. If the animal is powerful enough, this can result in a situation where the handler is pulled around uncontrollable by the animal or the animal may break free from the handler altogether.
Moreover, the flexibility of this type of leash does not permit the handler to apply a lateral force to the animal, only a pulling force. As a result, the animal cannot be easily controlled by the handler using a flexible leash. As a result, the flexible leash does not provide the kind of control required for good safety or to properly train an animal.
In addition to the foregoing deficiencies, the use of a spring-loaded clip or hook to attach the leash to the collar of the animal makes it difficult to quickly and easily attach the pet to and release the pet from the leash. In particular, the spring-loaded clip typical has a small protuberance usually made of metal that the animal handler must move against the bias of a fairly strong spring in order to open the clip. Due to the small size and slick surface of the metal protuberance, it is quite possible for the finger of the handler to slip off of the protuberance as it is being slid back. In addition, due to the strength of the spring bias, it is difficult and often painful to hold the clip open while attaching or releasing the pet from the leash. Moreover, some pet owners due to age or other infirmaries simple cannot readily manipulate the conventional latch of a leash.
Further, the spring-loaded clip must be hooked around the collar for attachment and unhooked from the collar for release and if the animal is straining or pulling away from the handler during this process, the result is not only a great deal of difficulty in accomplishing the task but also the possibility for the unintentional release of the animal.
In addition to the foregoing, there are many situations where it is desirable to release an animal from a leash quickly, as for example in working with police dogs, security dogs or hunting dogs or if a person is being attacked and uses the dog in defense.